How the use of the smartphone in flight can lead a tourist to jail

In the Nationalist Republic of China at least. There is no joking about the law in Taiwan. A Taiwanese blogger may end up in jail for violating local civil aviation rules.

Indeed, article 43-2 of the Civil Aviation Act provides:
« No equipment that could interfere with navigation or communications during the flight may be used without the express permission of CAA or on instructions from the cabin crew with the consent of the captain. »

Sanctions for violations of the law include imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to NT$150,000 (€4,331).

He simply used his smartphone to broadcast the taxiing and takeoff of flight Æ 365 Mandarin Airlines on April 18 that connected Taiwan to Penghu.

A victim of a denunciation from Internet users who viewed his post and forwarded it to the aeronautics administration, the latter decreed that such a crime could not go unpunished.

The file was forwarded to the Taipei prosecutor’s office

After checking the passenger manifest, Mr. Chen’s presence on board the flight was confirmed and the file was quickly closed. Especially since the crew had clearly informed the passengers that the mobile phones had to be switched off at the time of take-off.

The video was launched after cabin crew members had clearly stated that they were prohibited from using mobile devices during take-off.

Aggravating circumstance, his followers had urged him to stop filming the takeoff of the flight, so important were the legal risks.

Taiwan is no joke about the law !

Especially since Mr. Chen provoked justice by claiming that the amount of the fine represented little money for him. Today, civil aviation is asking the courts to apply the utmost severity to this school case.
All that remains to be done is to know the court decision of the Nationalist Republic of China.